Sagemont School building new gym

The final piece in the Sagemont School's campus is coming together: a gymnasium for its upper school.

City officials, school administrators and Sagemont athletes were among those attending a ceremonial groundbreaking last month at the school, 2585 Glades Circle. The school is building a $3.3 million gymnasium, which is expected to be completed in February.

The school already has a 7,700-square-foot gym at the lower school, which seats about 200 for sports events. The upper school gym will have about twice the square footage and seat about 600. The school also has begun work on an adjacent weight room and locker room, connected by a hallway.

The gym will be about more than just games and sports practices, Goldman said. The school will run sports camps, especially for volleyball and basketball players, and package that with individual trainers, he said, noting a nationwide trend of athletes acquiring personal training and coaching at a younger age. There will be spring break and winter break camps for the "more serious" athlete, he said.

The gym will also allow the school to expand its summer camp program for younger children, he said.

The school also has created Weston Sports Institute LLC, which will run adult sports leagues, most likely basketball and volleyball, Goldman said.

"Although our sports teams will have a priority, our goal is to have the facility in use for 365 days a year," he said. "We want to truly maximize it."

The Sagemont School, in northwest Weston, opened in 1996 for grades K-8. The first freshman class began in 2000, and that crop of students comprised the bulk of the school's first high school graduates, in 2004.

The school's K-12 enrollment has grown to 800, about 250 of which is for the upper school (grades 9-12). The school will likely max out at about 300 upper-school students, Goldman said.

The school is paying for the building out of its budget but is creating sponsorship packages for anyone interested in purchasing naming rights, Goldman said.

For information on the school, go to www.sagemont.com or call 954-389-2454.

Nick Sortal can be reached at nsortal@sun-sentinel.com or 954-385-7906.